Bed couch



No Model.) l 2 sheetssneer 1.

J'.A Gv. WOOD.

BED GOUGH 1904499992. Patented June 29, 1893.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2. J. G. WOOD. f

(No Model.)

BBD GOUGH.

No. 499,902. Patented June 20, 1893.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.l

JAMES O. WOOD, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGN OF ONE-HALF TO HENRY R. HENDERSON, OF SAME PLACE.

BED-COUCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 499,902, dated .I une 20, 1893.

Application tiled November 19, 1892. Serial No. 452,503. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern,.-

Be it known that I, JAMES C. `WOOD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Bed-Couches, of which the following is aspecification.

One object of my invention is to produce a bed which may be folded into a small compact couch of artistic shape when not desired to be used as abed, and which when unfolded will form a convenient and comfortable bed having springs at the position which supports the body, and being Without any projections upon the sides of the bed to cause inconvenience in getting into or out of the bed. A further object of my invention is to provide strong, simple and cheap automatic means for holding the back of the couch elevated when folded.

A further object of my invention is to provide means whereby when the back of the couch is lowered to form the bed, the drawer beneath the seat of the couch will 'be automatically drawn out therewith to form a support upon which the back of the couch will rest when fully lowered.

Afurther object of my invention is to provide a cheap and simple device for supporting the head rest when unfolded and in use as a bed.

Myinvention comprises the folded bed couch having the back hinged to thev rear edge of the base frame, and having a seat section hinged to the front edge of the base frame and providedat its ends respectively with the upwardly and downwardly projecting extensions or rolls one'arranged above .the level of the seat section and one below the seat level so that when the seat section is folded upon the base section one of the extensions or rolls will form the head rest above the seat section and the other will form the foot rest below the level of such section so that when the seat section is unfolded the arm or Yhead rest roll will be brought nndermost, out of the way; whereby the couch may be handled by the arm or head rest roll in drawing it from the wall to prepare it to be unfolded to form the bed and when the couch is thus placed in position by using the roll as a handhold to move it, the unfolding of the seat section will cause the arm orhead rest roll to be depressed; and the foot rest roll at the other end of the seat section, though raised, will be at the back of the bed next to the wall and out of the way of the occupant.

It also comprises a folding bed couch having the back hinged to the rear edge of the base and having the seat section hinged to the front edge of the base frame and provided at one end with an upwardly projecting head rest extension projecting above the seat level of the folded couch and provided at the other end with the downwardly projecting foot-rest extension, projecting below the seat level of the folded couch and beyond the end of the exterior main frame so that l provide an article of furniture which is of suitable length for a couch but which has a frame of a length proper for the width of the bed so that when the couch is unfolded to make a bed, the length of the frame Will be right for the width of the bed; but when the couch is folded, the couch thus formed will be the right length for a couch. By this means I am enabled to make an effective and desirable piece of furniture which is smaller and more compact than is possible with other forms of construction in which the same bed capacity is provided.

The accompanying drawings illustrate my invention.

Figure 1 is a perspective front View of a bed embodying my invention and closed to form a couch. Fig. 2 is aperspective view of the frame work of the bed or couch; the mattress and springs being omitted in order to expose the interior arrangements of the parts. Fig.3 is a perspective view of the bed formed by unfolding the couch shown in Fig. l. Fig. 4 is a mid-sectional view taken on line :c-x of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a view of the same somewhat enlarged for the purpose of better illustration and showing the parts as they appear when folded ready for use as a couch. A portion of the upholstering is shown in place. Fig. 6 is a detail of the device for pulling out the drawer. The parts are shown in position with the drawer thrown out.

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The couch and bed comprises the combination of the main base section A; a back section A hinged at its bottom to the rear of the base section; the supplemental or head rest section a hinged to the top of theback sec-A tion and arranged to fold upon such back section, and to be unfolded therefromto form a head rest when the back section is lowered to form the bed; a head rest section a. hinged to the front edge of the base section and provided with a roll fixed thereto and carried thereby and arranged to project upward when the seat section is folded and to thus form an arm or head rest for. the couch and adapted and arranged to be reversed and turned beneath the level of the seat section outof the way at the foot of the bed when the couch is unfolded to form a bed. The sections a and a are suitably upholstered to form the exte-` rior of the seatand back of the couch when folded and the sections A and A are suitably upholstered to form the mattress for the bed when unfolded. This upholstering consists in the ordinary arrangement of springs with removable mattresses 2, 3 laid thereon. The und-er faces of the sections a. a forming the seat and the back of the lounge are also upholstered on their un'der faces to form a suitable continuation of the two main mattresses 2, 3 when unfolded. The head section. a. is formed of a frame provided with webbing upholstered on one side to form the back ot' the couch and is mattressed upon the other side to form the head of the bed. When the bed is closed, the springs 4in the main section A ofthe back furnish a support for the mattress 2, 3 and webbing 5 and also gives sulhcient elasticity to make a comfortable support for the body of any one seated upon the couch.

The means I employ in place of the ordinary bed lounge ratchet for holding the back. elevated is most clearly illstrated in Figs. 2 and 5 and comprises the combination with the hinged back and base sections, of a stop arranged within the body of the base section above the bottom of such section, having an inclined face sloping upwardly and forwardly from the rear of the bottom of the base section toward the front, and a shore brace pivoted by one end to the rear of the hinged back section and having its other end arranged to lie upon such stop when the back is lowered, and adapted and arranged to be drawn backward upon such stop and to eugage the inclined face of the stop when the back is elevated.

* In practice when' the back is raised the upholstering of the back engages that of the arm and seat and it is dicult to determine exactly the angle with the base section the back will assume when it is raised as far as the upholstering will permit; but with my above mentioned brace this becomes immaterial for the inclined face will retain the shore brace at anypoint where the end thereof comes into contact with it thus sustaining the back in'any substantially upright position. The sections A and A being hinged together at their upper sides, the shore brace B extends obliquely from one section to the other and below the pivotal point of connection between such sections when the back is raised.` Suitable means for releasing the braces from the stops b are provided. As illustrated the cord b is attached to a screw eye b which issecured' to the shore brace below its pivotal or hinged point and is then passed through screw eyes B and ledl out at one side at the back of the couch, in the manner of the ordinary ratchet cord, where it may b e grasped and pulled. upon by the operator to raise the shore from its engagement with lthe stop. .Illustration of this is deemed unnecessary.

It is to be understood that both sides of the lounge are the same and that two cords are provided, one for each shore (but both led to one side of the back) and that before pulling the cords'to raiseY the shores, the back of the lounge is pushed forward r to remove the weight from such shores `to allow them to be leasily moved.

Heretofore in bed-lounges which have been provided with a drawer arranged to be pulled out at the rear to serve as a support for a portion of the bed, it has beennecessary to pull out the drawer separately before letting down, the back and in many cases forgetfulness uponA the part of the operator causes him to lower the back of thecouch before pullingoutthedrawer. This causes severe strain upon the hinges used `to connect the seat and back sections to each other and also necessitates again raising the back to pull out the drawer. ditiiculty I provide a suitable guide wayC which is secured upon the bottom of Athe main section A of the couch and in this is arranged a lever guiding block Oadapted to slide along such guide. A push lever C is attached to the guide block C by a hinge c and is hinged at its other end to an attaching block C "which is secured to the back section A in such a manner that when the back is fully elevated as shown in Fig. 5 the push lever will be drawn back to stand oblique to the two sections A and A and when the back A is lowered, the push lever will be forced forward and will extend parallel with the two sections. A cord e is attached to the push lever C near the slide block C and passes back from its point of attachment to the rear To avoid this IOO edge of the' main sectionA and over a pulley B. From this point it passes forward to the frontl of the drawer D and is attached thereto by suitable means such as the screw eye d. By this arrangement when the back is lowered the lever guiding block Cf slides back,

ward along the grooved slide guide way thus guiding the lever which in being forced for,- ward pulls upon the corde, which in turn opcrates over the pulley B to pull upon the drawer D and thus draws it outward to receive the back when it is lowered in position.

Other means for connecting the back and .the

drawer so that the lowering of the back will pull out the drawer may be employed without departing from the spirit of my invention.

The means I employ for supporting the head of the bed comprises the combination with the main or rear section A and the supplemental, or head rest section d pivoted or hinged to one side of such main section, of a supporting arm S pivoted at one end to such supplemental section and having its other end arranged to slide through a staple S fixed to suoli main section, and a suitable support or stop s arranged between such staple and the hinged or pivotal point of the head rest section at a distance from suoli staple to be engaged by the supporting arm to support such arm to thereby sustain the supplemental section.

The various parts are so proportioned and arranged that when the supplemental section is folded upon the main section, the supporting arm will be raised from the stop s and will slide forward through the staple, and when unfolded, the supporting arm will rest upon the stop and thus rigidly support the head rest at an angle with the main frame.

In the drawings Ihave shownv the couch provided with my improved reverse extension arm H, which, when the couchis folded, extends in a roll beyond the end of the main frame and below the level of the seat upholstering of the couch. This increases the length of the couch beyond that which would otherwise be secured with the short frame which is desirable in a couch bed of this character in which the length of the frame gages the width of the bed. By means of this ex` tension arm H the couch is made full length while the frame is of no greater length than is necessary for the width of the bed.

Il is the head rest when used as a couch.

The seat section a is provided upon its free edge with suitable folding legs I I.

In practice to unfold the couch to form the bed the first movement is to press the back forward slightly to release the shores which are then thrown out of engagement with their stop blocks by drawing upon the cord b and the back is then allowed to lower. As it lowers, the push lever C is thrown forward, thus drawing the cord c forward and pulling out the drawer D into position to receive andsupport the main back section A. The head rest section a is then drawn backinto position until supported by its braces. Then the seat section a is unfolded forward and the legs unfolded and dropped down to rest upon the floor as shown 'in Fig. 2. The bed is then ready for use.

To fold the couch the operation is reversed. y

Cleats e e are secured to the seat section a at the ends thereof respectively and are arranged to iitwithin and abut against the end members f f of the base section A when the seat section is folded over to form the seat of the couch, thus to hold the seat section againstlongitudinal displacement.

In Fig. 1, 'dotted lines H indicate an arm which may be attached to the seat instead of the reverse extension arm H, thus converting the device into a sofa, or if made of less width, intov a comfortable chair. By attaching both arms to the seat, when the seat is unfolded to form a bed, both of the arms are reversed or turned downward, thus leaving the bed perfectly flat and without any projections upon the sides thereof to prevent convenient use thereof.

Now, having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The combinationV set forth of the main section; the drawer arranged to slide under such main section and to be withdrawn therefrom to form the support for the back when lowered to form a bed; Iche back section hinged to the main section; the guide way fixed to the bottom of the main section; the guide block arranged to slide in such guide way; the push lever hinged to such guide block at one end and hinged at its other end toan attaching block; such attaching block secured to the back section;` the pulley secured to the main section; the cord attached to the push lever near the guide block and extending thence to the rear over the pulley and forward to, and attached to the front of the drawer.

2. In a folding bed couch the combination of the base section; the back section hinged to the rear of such base section; the head rest section hinged at one edge to the top of such back section; the supporting arm pivoted at one end to such head rest section at a distance from its pivotal or hinged point and having its other end arranged to slide through a staple; such staple fixed to the back section; a stop or rest arranged between such staple and the hinged'or pivotal point of the head rest section at a distance from such staple and arranged to be engaged by the support ing arm when the head rest section is unfolded from the back section and to allow such arm to be raised therefrom and to slide forward through the staple when the head rest section is folded upon the back section.

JAMES C. WOOD.

Witnesses:

- JAMES R. TowNsEND,

F. M. TowNsEND.

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